Once homeless man among Good Samaritan honorees

Also honored

A once-homeless man who insisted of giving back to this community after St. Augustine welcomed him will be among those honored Feb. 16, when the 19th annual Good Samaritan Awards Dinner is staged at the Casa Monica Hotel.

Paul Johnson, Home Again St. Johns, a native of Massachusetts, came to Florida, when, as a result of difficult circumstances, he became homeless and decided that if he was going to have to live outside, he was at least going to do so in a warmer climate.

He will share the spotlight Feb. 16 with Annabelle Kelly, St. Anastasia Parish; Bob and Carol Mathison, Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish; and Dominic and Joan Tringali, Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine.

Johnson’s story is one of pride and determination.

Like many of the homeless in the community, Johnson often attended the “Dining with Dignity” meals which are served in downtown St. Augustine nightly by various church and outreach groups. Johnson says he wasn’t content to just sit back and be served. “If I was going to eat, I was going to help too,” he says. So, he began to set up the tables and chairs in advance of the serving group’s arrival. Over time, he enlisted the help of other homeless who were also there for a meal, and now he has a team of eight to 10 folks who help out with set-up and tear-down each night.

When Mary Lawrence asked Johnson to serve as a liaison between the homeless community and the Home Again St. Johns organization, he readily agreed, and according to Lawrence, the Homeless Input Committee which he chaired has been able to provide the Home Again board with invaluable insight into the real lives of the homeless in St. Johns County. After a few months of leading that committee, Johnson was invited to join the board of directors for Home Again St. Johns. He was officially elected in April of 2012.

After nine months of hard work, clean living and leading others by personal example, Johnson has secured an apartment of his own.

“Paul Johnson is a humble man who is making a difference, one homeless person at a time,” says Lawrence. “He reminds us that anyone, no matter their circumstances, is capable of great compassion and love for their fellow brothers and sisters in need.”

Also honored

■ Annabelle Kelly: Annabelle and her late husband, Fred Kelly — lovingly known to all as “Bud” — were born and raised in Derby, Conn. Married in 1950, Bud worked for the state of Connecticut and Annabelle worked as a nurse and raised seven children. After their youngest child graduated high school, they spent the next 20 years living in Cape Cod, and occasionally would make trips to Florida where they came to love the little town of St. Augustine, and a little church called “St. Anastasia.” They planned to move to St. Augustine permanently in 1998, but sadly Bud passed away in July of that year, before they were able to do so. Annabelle stuck to their plan, however, and bravely made the move herself in September of 1998.

“A little dynamo” is the term that several of her friends affectionately use when referring to Annabelle. She is an extraordinary minister of the Holy Eucharist, she belongs to the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Ministry, the St. Anastasia Ladies Association, the Rosary Makers Guild, the Shawl Knitting Ministry, and often can be heard leading the Rosary for the congregation before Mass begins.

She also served as a volunteer for seven years with the St. Johns Ecumenical Food Pantry. But perhaps closest to Annabelle’s heart is missionary service. “Once I went on my first mission trip to Jamaica in 2003, I knew that this was something I was meant to be a part of,” says Annabelle. In the 10 years since then, in total she has made five trips to Jamaica and five to Haiti.

■ The Mathisons: Bob and Carol Mathison were born and raised in Louisville, Ky., and were married there in 1961. Bob was transferred to Jacksonville in 1980 with the CSX Railroad. They raised four children. The family now includes seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

While lifelong Catholics, it was their participation in a Cursillo weekend in 1989 that Carol says really challenged them to become more active in their Catholic faith.

Soon Bob and Carol became active in the pro-life movement. They were among a small group of sidewalk witnesses that started a crisis pregnancy organization, the Women’s Help Center, in Jacksonville in 1990. They have served on its board of directors and still oversee the publication of its newsletter and the First Saturday Masses in the Chapel of the Unborn there. In addition to the pro-life movement, Bob and Carol have also supported the St. Anthony’s Children’s Home in Jamaica and helped with its fundraising efforts.

In 2006, Bob and Carol moved to the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, where they quickly became active in Our Lady of Good Counsel parish. Bob is a Sacristan and a server at morning Mass as well as a member of the Men’s Club. Carol is the secretary for the ladies guild and a member of the church choir. They are both extraordinary ministers of the Holy Eucharist and recently took over the visitation ministry, which brings Holy Communion to the homebound and also to Catholics at the Clyde Lassen Veterans Home on Sundays. They also visit the Veterans Home once a month to say the Patriotic Rosary for our country with the residents there.

■ The Tringalis: Dominic and Joan Tringali were married in the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Augustine in 1959, and have basically spent their lives as dedicated parishioners and active volunteers. Both born and raised in St. Augustine, Dominic made his livelihood as a fisherman for some 30-plus years, following in his father’s footsteps as the captain of his own shrimp boat. Eventually Dominic sold his boat (which he had lovingly named the “Miss Joan”) and in 1996 began driving a school bus for St. Johns County, a job that he continues to hold to this day.

Both Dominic and Joan have been extraordinary ministers of the Holy Eucharist since 1979, and together they bring Holy Communion to the parish’s homebound on Sundays. Since 1984, Joan has also brought Holy Communion to Catholic patients at Flagler Hospital every Saturday, and on Fridays she can be found volunteering at the offices of the Cathedral Rectory, helping out in whatever way she can. Dominic has served as a Lector during Mass for many years as well.

For 28 years now, Dominic has dedicated his Saturday mornings to visiting the St. Johns County Jail to minister to the inmates there and bring them Holy Communion as well. Dominic has found this experience to be a very rewarding one, especially when on several occasions, he has run into former inmates after they have been released, and they have thanked him and told him what a difference the Prison Ministry made in their lives during their incarceration.

“Dominic and Joan embody the spirit of serving the needs of others,” says their pastor, the Rev. Tom Willis, “so as to be humble servants of the Lord.”

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Am reading a book on helping versus harming poor and homeless people. One phrase sticks out: "spending yourself". So the next time you see a homeless person or what appears to be a lonely, hurting person, spend a minute, see them as a person and don't worry about giving anything else but yourself. Takes it to a whole new level.